In New Zealand they are called overstayers and have their own clothing brand and a grid-iron football team. Well, those from
JD's review of Carroll's book, “Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible” makes for interesting reading and can spark interesting discussion:
"Immigration tends to be a polarizing issue both inside and outside the church no matter what your ethnic or citizen status and in my opinion, like politics, it is one for which we by-and-large lack the theological tools and ecclesiological framework to really address the subtleties of the problems involved, how to solve them, what the Church’s role should be, and how that should differ from the State’s (or really, States’). Therefore in my opinion serious books by Christians with expertise in Biblical studies, Theology, though especially Sociology, Politics, and Law are very much needed: people who not only understand the difficulties attendant in applying the ancient texts to modern circumstances which don’t overlap well, but also people who understand the modern circumstances well enough to know what kind of answers we should be looking for in the first place.
Prof. Carroll’s book is not really one
the Pacific Islands do. They've made overstaying an artform and an identity, even after they are
legally papered. Among the Asian communities, there is more secrecy and apprehension.
In the US they are illegals or aliens or both or worse and most come from Latin America. Vicious comments are made about them and jokes are told, most of which are not funny.
I am surprised at the number of people who will give me
funding to go overseas to tell foreigners about Jesus, but then turn around and make jokes about hardworking foreigners who may or may not be residing legally in their host country AND who are possibly paying appropriate taxes. The assumptions are gross!
One vicious website is on a campaign, a crusade, to educate the US about an illegal invasion.
Illegal Aliens are not immigrants!
About 60% of the illegal alien population are "undocumented aliens," who are commonly known as "unlawful border crossers," or more properly known as "illegal aliens."
About 40% of the U.S. illegal alien population are "documented aliens," who are commonly known as "visa overstayers."
M. Daniel Carroll writes on the challenges from a unique perspective. As an Old Testament scholar who was born in Guatemala, he sees the context historically and cross-culturally.
Donald Kim writes of Carroll's book, "The first chapter, poignantly titled "Hispanic Immigration: Invasion or Opportunity?" gives the bulk of the content on immigration in the U.S. with its history and impact. Historically, various people groups have come to the States: the Chinese, Irish and Southern Europeans, and Africans. Carroll briefly looks at the impact and the sobering realities of displacement.
Previous immigration focused on assimilation, a convergence toward a kind of "Americanism." Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations, explains how the Hispanic immigration differs from the previous flow of immigrants: 1) immigration from Latin America is not an ocean's way, 2) the number of immigrants exceeds any previous people group, and 3) the enclave of immigrants, called barrios, slows the assimilation process. Huntington reports that the lack of assimilation leads to "declining levels of English language acquisition, less educational achievement, and poorer socioeconomic success" (41). "
Previous immigration focused on assimilation, a convergence toward a kind of "Americanism." Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations, explains how the Hispanic immigration differs from the previous flow of immigrants: 1) immigration from Latin America is not an ocean's way, 2) the number of immigrants exceeds any previous people group, and 3) the enclave of immigrants, called barrios, slows the assimilation process. Huntington reports that the lack of assimilation leads to "declining levels of English language acquisition, less educational achievement, and poorer socioeconomic success" (41). "
"Immigration tends to be a polarizing issue both inside and outside the church no matter what your ethnic or citizen status and in my opinion, like politics, it is one for which we by-and-large lack the theological tools and ecclesiological framework to really address the subtleties of the problems involved, how to solve them, what the Church’s role should be, and how that should differ from the State’s (or really, States’). Therefore in my opinion serious books by Christians with expertise in Biblical studies, Theology, though especially Sociology, Politics, and Law are very much needed: people who not only understand the difficulties attendant in applying the ancient texts to modern circumstances which don’t overlap well, but also people who understand the modern circumstances well enough to know what kind of answers we should be looking for in the first place.
Prof. Carroll’s book is not really oneof these, though it is no less important. We need more books like this. In his introduction, he explains that his goal is to present a conversation piece for the church–particularly in the USA. He intends to offer a simplified, concise presentation of the history of Hispanic immigration in the US, as well as all (yes, all) the NT and OT evidence bearing on the question of how the Church should think about immigration. He says his goal is not to sustain a particular argument on immigration. Rather his goal is to offer ideas, perspectives, and information to educate Christians and get them thinking–to force Christians to see the multifaceted complexity of the issues involved and encourage much-needed dialog. It is probably worth emphasizing that he focuses only on Hispanic immigration to the US–I think this was a wise book that will probably make his book more useful than if he treated immigration more generally."
Reviving and Applying the Legacy Of Harvie Conn to Today’s Changing World.
The comments there are worth a wander too. Get the book via Amazon.
Unsurprisingly, Texas & New York lead in the statistics of hosting undocumented immigrants in the US.
NZ hosts 4000 Samoans and nearly 2500 Tongans overstayers, along with almost 200 Chinese and 700 people from Fiji.
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